Mbeki Tries to Mediate Ivory Coast Presidential Standoff
VOA News05 December 2010
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki (L) meets with presidential election candidate Alassane Ouattara (R) during their meeting in Abidjan, 05 Dec 2010
Former South African leader Thabo Mbeki is in Ivory Coast, trying to end the standoff over last week's disputed presidential election.
Mbeki held separate meetings Sunday with incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara, both of whom declared themselves president on Saturday.
Mbeki was sent by the African Union. He told reporters after the meetings that Ivory Coast is in a very serious situation. He said he hopes to find a way out of the crisis without violence or war.
The United States, France, the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations all say they recognize Mr. Ouattara as the elected president, and they have called on Gbagbo to accept the result.
The political crisis has heightened fears of renewed unrest and violence in Ivory Coast. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns, who is in Abidjan, reports that United Nations agencies are planning to remove all foreign staffers from the country. He says a decision is expected Monday.
Election-related violence already has left at least 14 people dead.
AP
Jordanian United Nations soldiers stand guard at the entrance to the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 05 Dec 2010
U.N. peacekeepers have blocked the entrance to Ouattara's hotel with armored personnel carriers, and the military has set up roadblocks around Abidjan, the main city.
On Saturday, Gbagbo took the oath of office in a televised ceremony after Ivory Coast's Constitutional Council said he won last Sunday's runoff election with 51 percent of the vote.
However, the Ivorian electoral commission already had named Mr. Ouattara the winner with 54 percent.
Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader who has served in a unity government with Gbagbo since a 2007 peace deal, said Saturday he is backing Ouattara.
Ivory Coast's presidential election was meant to restore stability, eight years after a civil war left the country split between rebel- and government-controlled areas.
The U.S. State Department has issued a warning against travel to the Ivory Coast because of the possibility of violence.
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